Method of controlling traffic in a cellular network and system thereof

ABSTRACT

There are provided a method of controlling traffic in a cellular network comprising a plurality of controlled access points (APs) and a system thereof. The method comprises: continuously obtaining data informative of resource utilization with regard to APs of the plurality of controlled APs; processing the obtained data to continuously classify, for a given AP, downlink load with respect to a downlink load threshold and uplink load with respect to an uplink load threshold, thereby giving rise to downlink and uplink classification results, wherein uplink load classification is provided independently of downlink load classification; and enabling provisioning of the given AP in accordance with respective classification results, wherein: provisioning in accordance with downlink classification results comprises changing cell reselection parameters and/or changing cell footprint parameters; provisioning in accordance with uplink classification comprises changing cell selection parameters; and provisioning in accordance with uplink classification is enabled independently of provisioning in accordance with downlink classification.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/085,953, entitled “METHOD OF CONTROLLINGTRAFFIC IN A CELLULAR NETWORK AND SYSTEM THEREOF” filed Dec. 1, 2014,the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by referenceherein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The presently disclosed subject matter relates generally to systems andmethods of wireless communication and, particularly, to methods ofcontrolling traffic in cellular networks and systems thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For today's complex cellular networks, traffic control has becomeessential for efficient utilization of the overall available resources.

Nowadays, the world of cellular communication is characterized bysimultaneous deployment of multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs) andmultiple bands of the same RATs in a given coverage area of a givenoperator. Multi-RAT and multi-band cellular communication environmentcan result from implementing emerging new cellular communicationstandards whilst retaining legacy technologies for as long as possible.Such environment can be also caused by fragmented spectrum received fora given RAT by a given operator due to licensing issues and for otherreasons.

Mobile operators face a growing need to define how and when theirnetwork resources are used, and to balance the load of respectivenetwork resources. Efficient utilization of the available pool ofresources requires traffic control aiming at distributing the load in anoptimal manner. Distributing the load may be performed between differentcells by handing over transmission of data to other cells at a samefrequency and/or across different RATs and bands.

Problems of controlling traffic in cellular networks have beenrecognized in the conventional art and various techniques have beendeveloped to provide solutions. For example:

US Patent Application No. 2009/0323530 discloses a method, program,system and apparatus performing dynamic load balancing of coverage areasin a wireless communication network. Dynamic load balancing is performedby evaluating cell congestion based on location information ofsubscribers in the wireless communication network, collecting networkparameters related to the wireless communication network and alteringnetwork parameters based on the evaluated cell congestion. After thenetwork parameter is altered, the coverage areas are narrowed.Improvements in cell congestion and quality of server are thendetermined based on the narrowing of the coverage areas. Altering theplurality of network parameters and evaluating cell congestion areperformed continuously until a target quality of service is achieved.

US Patent Application No. 2011/0039564 discloses a method of operationof a cellular access point amongst a plurality of interconnectedcellular access points, the method comprising: receiving from a firstuser equipment a connection attempt that would cause the access point toexceed a first predetermined capacity threshold; selecting one of thepreviously connected user equipments and an associated one of theplurality of interconnected cellular access points; initiating ahandover of the selected one of the previously connected user equipmentsto the associated one of the plurality of interconnected cellular accesspoints; and establishing a connection with the first user equipment.

US Patent Application No. 2011/0222416 discloses systems and methods forfacilitating inter-cell interference coordination using load indication.A UE may receive load indicator signals from a plurality of basestations in adjacent cells and determine, based at least in part on theload indicator signals, a transmit power metric. The transmit powermetric may be provided to a serving base station, which may allocateuplink resources based on the transmit power metric. Additionalinformation related to receiver sensitivity and/or path loss may be usedto determine the transmit power metric.

US Patent Application No. 2013/0077491 discloses a method of controllingnetwork traffic via a traffic detection function at the user equipment.The method includes obtaining, at an electronic device, an applicationconfiguration, the application configuration including an applicationidentifier identifying an application of a plurality of applications anda network communication characteristic corresponding to each of theplurality of applications. The method further includes detecting, at theelectronic device, the application identifier in a packet of networktraffic. The method also includes transmitting, from the electronicdevice, the packet of network traffic based on the network communicationcharacteristic corresponding to the detected application identifier. Byproviding an application identifier, fine grained (e.g., applicationspecific) network controls may be implemented such as quality ofservice, charging/accounting, idle handoff, and traffic redirection/loadbalancing.

International Patent Application No. WO10/133256 discloses a techniquewhen a load of an apparatus of a communications network is evaluated andhandover parameters to be advertised for mobile station decided handoverare adapted accordingly. Radio resource management information may beexchanged between the apparatus and at least one neighboring apparatusin the communications network, and a load of the at least oneneighboring apparatus may be evaluated from the exchanged radio resourcemanagement information. The handover parameters to be advertised may beadapted in case the evaluated load of the apparatus and the evaluatedload of the at least one neighboring apparatus have reachedpredetermined limits. Mobile stations of a communications network systemare provided with modified handover parameters which induce the mobilestations to make a handover decision as desired by a networkinfrastructure.

International Patent Application No. WO13/156067 discloses a method forconfiguring a handover procedure of user equipment from a source cell toa target cell within a cellular network system. The cellular networksystem comprises the source cell and at least one neighboring targetcell. The handover procedure is based on measurements being performed bythe user equipment prior to a handover, wherein the measurements arebased on a cell individual offset. A cell individual offset is assignedto each of the at least one neighboring target cell in relation to thesource cell, wherein the cell individual offset is adaptable by amobility robustness optimization algorithm and a mobility load balancingalgorithm. The method comprises computing a first value for the cellindividual offset for each of the at least one neighboring target cellrepresenting an optimum cell individual offset for the mobilityrobustness optimization algorithm, computing a second value lower thanor equal to the first value and a third value higher than or equal tothe first value for the cell individual offset for each of the at leastone neighboring target cell, the second value representing the lowestvalue being acceptable for the mobility robustness optimizationalgorithm and the third value representing the highest value beingacceptable for the mobility robustness optimization algorithm, settingthe cell individual offset to the first value by the mobility robustnessoptimization algorithm, adapting the cell individual offset between thesecond value and the third value by the mobility load balancingalgorithm, and configuring a handover procedure for the user equipmentfrom the source cell to a target cell based on user equipmentmeasurements being based on the adapted cell individual offset.

International Patent Application No. WO13/167187 discloses a method forresetting mobility parameters being associated with a handover procedurefor a user equipment between a source cell and a target cell within acellular network system. The cellular network system comprises thesource cell and at least one neighboring target cell, wherein thehandover procedure is initiated by a trigger value, wherein a triggervalue is assigned to each of the at least one neighboring target cell inrelation to the source cell, wherein the trigger value is dependent onmobility parameters being adaptable by a mobility robustnessoptimization algorithm and is dependent on mobility parameters beingadaptable by a mobility load balancing algorithm. The method comprisesresetting the mobility parameters for the mobility robustnessoptimization algorithm or the mobility load balancing algorithm,generating a message comprising information about the reset of themobility parameters being associated with the mobility robustnessoptimization algorithm or the mobility load balancing algorithm andcomprising information about the associated algorithm, and transmittingthe message between the source cell and the at least one neighboringcell for resetting the mobility parameters of the associated algorithmbased on the received message.

International Patent Application No. WO14/016280 discloses a method forimplementing a cell load balancing mechanism in wireless networks. Themethod comprises at least one wireless user terminal (UE) connectedthrough a wireless network to a serving base station and a plurality ofnetwork cells, each one comprising at least a base station and/or radionetwork controllers, each network cell broadcasting a cell loadindicator. The at least one wireless user terminal performs followingactions: collecting said broadcasted cell load indicator of each one ofsaid plurality of network cells, providing to the wireless network,information about the actual cell load indicators of the plurality ofcells, and performing a network cell selection based on the broadcastedcell load indicators, wherein the cell selection is performed withoutany exchange of cell load indicators between the plurality of networkcells.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

In accordance with certain aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is provided a method of controlling traffic in a cellularnetwork comprising a plurality of controlled access points (APs). Themethod comprises: continuously obtaining by a computerized system datainformative of resource utilization with regard to APs of the pluralityof controlled APs; processing, by the computerized system, the obtaineddata to continuously classify, for a given AP of the plurality ofcontrolled APs, downlink load with respect to a downlink load thresholdand uplink load with respect to an uplink load threshold, thereby givingrise to downlink and uplink classification results, wherein uplink loadclassification is provided independently of downlink loadclassification; and enabling, by the computerized system, provisioningof the given AP in accordance with respective classification results,wherein: provisioning in accordance with downlink classification resultscomprises changing cell reselection parameters and/or changing cellfootprint parameters; provisioning in accordance with uplinkclassification comprises changing cell selection parameters; andprovisioning in accordance with uplink classification is enabledindependently of provisioning in accordance with downlinkclassification.

The method can further comprise, by the computerized system:continuously obtaining one or more KPIs with regard to the given AP;using the obtained KPIs for calculating, for the given AP, acongestion-indicative value; and enabling provisioning the given AP inaccordance with downlink classification results only if the calculatedcongestion-indicative value is less than a predefined value of acongestion threshold.

In accordance with other aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is provided a traffic control system capable ofcontrolling traffic in a cellular network comprising a plurality ofcontrolled access points (APs). The system comprises a processoroperatively coupled to a memory and an interface circuit operativelycoupled to the processor and the memory. The interface circuit isconfigured to continuously obtain data informative of resourceutilization with regard to APs of the plurality of controlled APs. Theprocessor is configured to: process data obtained via the interfacecircuit to continuously classify, for a given AP of the plurality ofcontrolled APs, downlink load with respect to a downlink load thresholdstored in the memory and uplink load with respect to an uplink loadthreshold stored in the memory, thereby giving rise to downlink anduplink classification results, wherein the processor is configured toprovide uplink load classification independently of downlink loadclassification; and enable provisioning of the given AP in accordancewith respective classification results, wherein: provisioning inaccordance with downlink classification results comprises changing cellreselection parameters and/or changing cell footprint parameters;provisioning in accordance with uplink classification comprises changingcell selection parameters; and provisioning in accordance with uplinkclassification is enabled independently of provisioning in accordancewith downlink classification.

In accordance with further aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, provisioning the given AP in accordance with downlinkclassification results can be further enabled only if uplinkclassification results match predefined criteria. Optionally, downlinkload classification of the given AP is enabled only when the uplink loadof the given AP is classified as being below the load threshold.

In accordance with further aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, the values of load thresholds can be predefined or thecomputerized system changes the values of load thresholds in accordancewith predefined rules. Values of load thresholds of the given AP candiffer from values of load thresholds of at least one other AP of theplurality of controlled APs.

In accordance with further aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, data informative of resource utilization with regard to at leastone AP can be obtained in a format differing from the format of datainformative of resource utilization obtained with regard to at least oneother AP.

In accordance with other aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is provided a method of controlling traffic in a cellularnetwork comprising a plurality of controlled access points (APs)configured to serve passengers in one or more trains in accordance witha train schedule. The method comprises: for each given AP from theplurality of APs, a) obtaining data informative of load in uplink and/ordownlink, the load expected during a period scheduled in accordance withthe train schedule and corresponding to expected substantive increase ofpassengers to be served by the given AP; b) processing the obtained datato classify the load expected in uplink with respect to an uplink loadthreshold and/or the load expected in downlink with respect to downloadthreshold, thereby giving rise to uplink and/or downlink classificationresults; c) configuring provisioning actions in accordance withclassifying results and d) enabling the configured provisioning actionsat a scheduled time.

In accordance with other aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is provided a computerized system capable of controllingtraffic in a cellular network comprising a plurality of controlledaccess points (APs) configured to serve passengers in one or more trainsin accordance with a train schedule, the system configured to enableoperations a)-d) above.

Provisioning in accordance with downlink classification results cancomprise changing cell reselection parameters and/or changing cellfootprint parameters. Provisioning in accordance with uplinkclassification results can comprise changing cell selection parameters.

In accordance with further aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, operations a)-c) can be provided in advance and respective dataand provisional scripts can be stored in the computerized system.

Data informative of load expected in uplink and/or downlink can bederived in advance from the train schedule, estimated number ofpassengers to be served by the given AP during respectively scheduledperiod and statistic-based data informative of KPI and resourceutilization of the given AP in the absence of trains. Number ofpassengers to be served by the given AP during the scheduled period canbe estimated using a temporal pattern derived from statistical datainformative of a number of passengers in train when passing during thescheduled period the area served by the given AP.

In accordance with further aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, data informative of load expected in uplink and/or downlinkduring the scheduled period can be estimated in-advance using a temporalpattern derived by the computerized system from data informative of arespective load moving in a linear direction from one AP to another APfrom the plurality of APs.

In accordance with further aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, operation a) can be provided in a continuous manner. Thecomputerized system can derive data informative of load expected inuplink and/or downlink of a given AP from data informative of loadmoving corresponding to moving a given train between one or more APsfrom the plurality of APs and preceding the given AP.

In accordance with further aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, the continuously obtained data informative of the expected loadof the given AP can be processed by the computerized system tocontinuously refine the provided in-advance classification.

The method can further comprise selecting, by the computerized systemand among the stored provisional scripts, a script corresponding to therefined classification, and enable respectively selected provisioningactions at the scheduled time. Alternatively, the method can furthercomprise disabling, by the computerized system, the pre-scheduledprovisioning actions if the refined classification meets a disablecriterion.

In accordance with further aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, the method can further comprise using, by the computerizedsystem, the continuously obtained data informative of the expected loadin a feedback loop for classification and pre-provisioning one or morenext scheduled events.

In accordance with further aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, the method can further comprise processing the continuouslyobtained data informative of load expected in uplink and/or downlinkduring the scheduled period to continuously classify the expected loadand enabling provisioning the uplink and/or downlink of the given AP inaccordance with classification results, the provisioning to be providedat the scheduled time in accordance with the trains schedule.

Among advantages of certain embodiments of the presently disclosedsubject matter is capability to provide traffic control with no need ofcommunication (e.g. for exchanging load information) between accesspoints for load balancing and/or traffic steering purposes. Inter- andintra-RAT traffic control can be provided in a cellular networkcomprising access points of different vendors and/or of differentstandards.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to understand the invention and to see how it may be carriedout in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way ofnon-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings,in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a generalized network environment including a trafficcontrol system configured in accordance with certain embodiments of thepresently disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 2 illustrates a generalized flow chart of controlling traffic in anaccess point in accordance with certain embodiments of the presentlydisclosed subject matter;

FIG. 3 illustrates a generalized flow chart of gradually reducingfootprint parameters of an access point in accordance with certainembodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 4 illustrates a generalized flow chart of classifying an accesspoint's downlink load in accordance with certain embodiments of thepresently disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 5 illustrates a generalized flow chart of provisioning AP'sreselection parameters in accordance with downlink load classification;

FIG. 6 illustrates a generalized flow chart of provisioning AP'sfootprint parameters in accordance with downlink load classification;

FIG. 7 illustrates a generalized flow chart of a scheduled controllingtraffic in an access point in accordance with certain embodiments of thepresently disclosed subject matter; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a generalized functional diagram of the trafficcontrol system in accordance with certain embodiments of the presentlydisclosed subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention.However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that thepresently disclosed subject matter may be practiced without thesespecific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures,components and circuits have not been described in detail so as not toobscure the presently disclosed subject matter.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the followingdiscussions, it is appreciated that throughout the specificationdiscussions utilizing terms such as “processing”, “computing”,“classifying”, “calculating”, “generating”, “obtaining”, “provisioning”or the like, refer to the action(s) and/or process(es) of a computerthat manipulate and/or transform data into other data, said datarepresented as physical, such as electronic, quantities and/or said datarepresenting the physical objects. The term “computer” should beexpansively construed to cover any kind of electronic device with dataprocessing capabilities including, by way of non-limiting example, thetraffic control system disclosed in the present application.

It is to be understood that the term “non-transitory” is used herein toexclude transitory, propagating signals, but to include, otherwise, anyvolatile or non-volatile computer memory technology suitable to thepresently disclosed subject matter.

The operations in accordance with the teachings herein may be performedby a computer specially constructed for the desired purposes or by ageneral-purpose computer specially configured for the desired purpose bya computer program stored in a computer readable storage medium.

The references cited in the background teach many principles of trafficcontrol in a cellular network that may be applicable to the presentlydisclosed subject matter. Therefore the full contents of thesepublications are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate, forappropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, featuresand/or technical background.

Embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter are not describedwith reference to any particular programming language. It will beappreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used toimplement the teachings of the presently disclosed subject matter asdescribed herein.

Bearing this in mind, attention is drawn to FIG. 1 illustrating anon-limiting example of a schematic network environment including asystem capable of controlling traffic in accordance with certainembodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter and referred tohereinafter as a traffic control (TC) system. As illustrated in FIG. 1,the TC system (101) is operatively connected to one or more OSS(Operation and Support System) servers and/or to Radio NetworkController(s) (RNC) and/or Mobile Management Entities (MME) provided byone or more vendors (denoted as 102-1 and 102-2). Unless specificallystated otherwise, any depository of network-related data (e.g. OSS, RNC,etc.) is referred to hereinafter as a network data (ND) depository(102). The TC system (101) can be further operatively connected to aPerformance Management (PM) node (106) and, optionally, to a Policy andCharging Rules Function (PCRF) node (107), billing system (108) and/orother client-related system.

The TC system is further operatively connected (by direct connection orthrough a mediation layer as, for example, OSS server) to a plurality ofaccess points (103) to be controlled, the access points (APs) servingconnected user equipments (UEs) and/or associated with idle UEs. Theaccess points controlled by the TC system can be sectors (e.g.macrocells, picocells and femtocells, etc.) and/or groups thereof.

It is noted that access points within the plurality of access points canoperate in different bands and/or RATs and can be provided by differentvendors. For purpose of illustration only, the following description isprovided with respect to a network operating under UMTS standard. Theteachings of the presently disclosed subject matter are, likewise,applicable to other standards of 3^(rd) and next generations.

The TC system is configured to continuously receive network-related dataand client-related data from one or more ND depositories and/orclient-related systems.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, it is appreciated that throughoutthe specification the terms “continuously receiving data” refers toreceiving (in push or pull mode) data substantially each time a new datais available to the TC system (e.g. with a period specified as minimalcollection time for a certain ND depository, with a period specified asminimal collection time for a group of certain ND depositories, in anear real-time mode, etc.). In “pull” mode, the availability of new datacan be defined by configuration of the TC system specifying when to pullthe data. Likewise, the term “continuously obtaining data” refers tocontinuously receiving a given required data and/or processing thecontinuously received data in order to derive the given required data.

The TC system is configured to continuously obtain data informative ofresource utilization (e.g. data informative of transmission power,downlink codes, downlink Channel Elements, uplink Channel Elements,uplink Received Total Wideband Power (RTWP), etc.). The TC system isfurther configured to continuously obtain data informative of networkquality. Network Quality can be evaluated with the help of KeyPerformance Indicators (KPIs) indicative of a network's ability toprovide given services with assured service level and/or end users'level of satisfaction with given services.

The obtained data can be stored in a database (104) operativelyconnected to a processor (105) configured to enable operations asdetailed with reference to FIGS. 2-7.

The TC system 101 can receive from one or more network data (ND)depositories data indicative of network events and/or user-relatedevents registered in the ND depositories and informative of resourceutilization. By way of non-limiting example, the TC system can beconfigured to continuously receive (in push and/or pull mode) from oneor more RNCs Performance Call History Record (PCHR) logs (or partsthereof) generated by RNC and collected thereon during a certain periodof time P_(ND) (e.g. time specified as minimal collection time for RNC).The TC system can be further configured to accommodate the receivedrecords and/or derivatives thereof in the database (104).

The TC system can be configured to derive data informative of resourceutilization, KPIs and/or other quality related data directly from theobtained PCHR log records.

By way of non-limiting example, processing the PCHR log records caninclude deriving event messages informative of:

-   -   events related to soft handover (SHO) (e.g. a primary CPICH        enters/leaves the reporting range; non-active primary CPICH        becomes better than an active primary CPICH; change of best        cell; a primary CPICH becomes better/worth than an absolute        threshold, etc.);    -   events related to inter-frequency handover (IFHO) and/or        inter-RAT handover (IRATHO) (e.g. change of best frequency, the        estimated quality of the currently used frequency below/above a        certain threshold, the estimated quality of a non-used frequency        is below/above a certain threshold, estimated quality of the        other system is below/above a certain threshold, change of best        cell in other system, etc.);    -   cell performance logs, etc.

The TC system can be configured to filter and correlate the derivedevent messages and further generate performance-indicative counters. TheTC system can further use data from the performance-indicative countersas data indicative of resource utilization.

Alternatively or additionally, the TC system can continuously receiveKPIs or other performance-related data from different depositories (e.g.from the PM node 106).

Alternatively or additionally to receiving data collected in one or morenetwork depositories, the TC system can be configured to continuouslyobtain data informative of resource utilization from a plurality ofprobe devices (illustrated as 109-1-109-4). The probe devices areoperatively connected to the respective access points to sniff and/ormonitor traffic between the access points and the RNC. The TC system canreceive data directly through the probe devices (e.g. as illustrated forthe probe devices 109-3 and 109-4) or via a network depository (e.g. asillustrated for the probe devices 109-1 and 109-2). The TC system cancontinuously receive data collected by the probe devices in nearreal-time mode, independently of collection periods of the networkdepositories.

In accordance with certain embodiments of the presently disclosedsubject matter and as will be further detailed with reference to FIGS.2-7, the TC system can be configured to process the obtained datainformative of resource utilization status, KPIs and/or other qualityrelated data and, thereby, to continuously monitor access points' load.The TS system can be further configured to dynamically recommend and/orprovide, directly or indirectly, corrective actions with regard to oneor more access points in accordance with the monitoring results.

Those versed in the art will readily appreciate that the teachings ofthe presently disclosed subject matter are not bound by the networkarchitecture illustrated in FIG. 1, equivalent and/or modifiedfunctionality can be consolidated or divided in another manner and canbe implemented in any appropriate combination of software, firmware andhardware. The TC system can be a standalone network entity, orintegrated, fully or partly, with other network entities.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a generalized flow chart ofcontrolling traffic in an access point in accordance with certainembodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter.

The TC system continuously obtains (201) data informative ofcongestion-indicative KPIs and radio resource utilization with regard tothe plurality of access points (AP) to be controlled. Such data can beobtained by aggregating and, optionally, processing data received fromthe one or more ND depositories (102) and/or PM node (106). Optionally,the plurality of access points can comprise access points operating indifferent RATs and/or different bands and/or provided by differentvendors, while data related to such access can be obtained invendor-proprietary formats. KPIs can be informative of quality ofservice degradation caused by congestion as, by way of non-limitingexample, Radio Resource Control (RRC) congestion ratio KPI, Radio AccessBearer (RAB) congestion ratio KPI, circuit switch (CS) congestion ratioKPI, packet switch (PS) congestion ratio KPI, etc, each congestion ratioindicative of the percentage of respective unsuccessful attempts withinthe total attempts.

For each given AP among the plurality of APs, the TC system usesrespective KPIs obtained in operation (201) to continuously calculate(in accordance with predefined rules) for the given access point acongestion-indicative value and compares (202) the calculatedcongestion-indicative value with a value of congestion threshold T_(c).The value of congestion threshold of a given access point can bepredefined by an operator. Optionally, during the operation, the TCsystem can change the value of the congestion threshold responsive tonetwork conditions (e.g. load conditions in a certain group of APs, loadconditions in the entire network or a respective part thereof, changesof a privilege level of the given AP, certain situations (as e.g. theoccurrence of special, optionally scheduled events, time of day,emergency situations, and so on), etc.) in accordance with predefinedrules. A value of congestion threshold can be different for differentAPs. By way of non-limiting example, the congestion-indicative value canbe calculated as the highest value among the obtained values of KPIswithin a predefined set of congestion-indicative KPIs (e.g. RRCCongestion KPI, RAB CS congestion KPI and RAB PS congestion KPI).Optionally, this value can be calculated as a weighted average value ofthe obtained values of congestion-indicative KPIs in the set orotherwise.

If the congestion-indicative value for the given access point equals orexceeds the respective value of the congestion threshold, the TC systemenables, responsive to respective classification results, provisioning(209) of AP footprint parameters so as to reduce coverage of the givenAP. Reducing coverage can be achieved by reducing AP's transmit power(e.g. Common Pilot Channel (CPICH) power in UMTS), by down tilting theantenna, by changing azimuth of the access point or by a combination oftwo or more of such actions. Footprint parameters of the given accesspoint can be reduced in a gradual manner. As illustrated by way ofnon-limiting example in FIG. 3, the TC system can be configured tohandle a plurality 300 of consecutively increasing congestionprovisional thresholds T_(cpi), wherein the congestion threshold T_(c)is the lowest congestion provisional threshold in the plurality. The TCsystem can be further configured to enable provisioning of the givenaccess point in accordance with the relationship of thecongestion-indicative value (CIV) and consecutive congestion provisionalthresholds. For example, if T_(c)=T_(cp1)≤CIV<T_(cp2), the TC systemenables (301) reduction of AP footprint parameter(s) to 1^(st) level; ifT_(cp2)≤CIV<T_(cp3), the TC system enables (302) reduction of APfootprint parameter(s) to 2^(nd) level; and if T_(cp3)≤CIV, the TCsystem enables (303) reduction of AP footprint parameter(s) to the3^(rd) level. Table 1 illustrates a non-limiting example of a pluralityof congestion provisional thresholds and reduction of CPICH Power to beprovided, corresponding to different provisional thresholds.

TABLE 1 Congestion Provisional CPICH Power Thresholds Decision DownT_(cp1) = 0.1% 1^(st) level 0.2 dB T_(cp2) = 0.5% 2^(nd) level 0.5 dBT_(cp3) = 1.0% 3^(rd) level 1.0 dB

Referring back to FIG. 2, for each given AP among the plurality of APs,the TC system continuously classifies (203) an uplink (UL) load andseparately continuously classifies (206) a downlink (DL) load. The TCsystem provides classification using data informative of radio resourceutilization during a classification period. Optionally (as illustratedby way of non-limiting example in FIG. 2), the classification of ULand/or DL load can be provided only when the congestion-indicative valueis below the value of the congestion threshold.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, it is appreciated that throughoutthe specification the term “continuously classifying data” refers toproviding classification operation responsive to predefined events (e.g.receiving new data available to the TC system, receiving classificationtriggering notification, in accordance with a schedule, periodically,etc.).

Unless specifically stated otherwise, it is appreciated that throughoutthe specification the term “classification period” refers to a periodbetween starting collection of data involved in a given classificationdecision and taking the given classification decision. Optionally,duration of the classification period can be equal to the duration ofthe collection period configured for the TC system. In a case of nearreal-time data collection, duration of a classification period can beconfigured in accordance with processing capabilities of the TC systemand/or provisioning-related requirements.

Optionally, duration of a classification period can be differentlyconfigured for uplink and downlink.

Load classification of a downlink can be provided based on one or moreload-indicative values calculated for one or more radio resources (e.g.transmission power, DL codes, DL channel elements and UL channelelements, etc.) during a classification period. Calculating the downlinkload-indicative values and providing respective load classification isfurther detailed with reference to FIG. 4.

The uplink load-indicative value can be informative of availablesignals, noise, and interference in the uplink and, by way ofnon-limiting example, can be calculated as equal to Received TotalWideband Power (RTWP). Received Total Wideband Power is the total powerof all signals received in the uplink frequency band on the cellantenna, irrespective of whether or not these signals are uplinkphysical channels sent by UEs, or interference from an outside source.The uplink is classified as “loaded” if the uplink load-indicative valueequals or exceeds a value of uplink load threshold T_(UL).

Optionally, the TC system can be configured to provide theclassification of DL load only when the uplink load-indicative value isbelow the value TUL of uplink load threshold.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is illustrated a non-limiting example ofclassifying a downlink load of an AP among the plurality of APs to becontrolled.

In accordance with certain embodiments of the presently disclosedsubject matter, the TC system is configured to handle (401) definitionsof load-indicative values and respective load condition criteria C_(L)for each of resources specified (e.g. by a network operator) to be usedfor load assessment of a downlink. By way of non-limiting example, theresources to be used for assessment can be specified on a cell/sectorlevel (e.g. transmission power, DL channelization codes), NodeB/sitelevel (e.g. DL channel elements and uplink channel elements, IubThroughput UL/DL) and/or backhaul level (e.g. NodeB Iub TransportThroughput); and load-indicative values can be defined as availabilityof respective radio resource averaged by UEs associated with a given APduring the classification period (including idle UEs). By way ofnon-limiting example, the following set of load-indicative values can becalculated for the classification period: value indicative of availabletransmission power per associated UE, value indicative of available DLcodes per associated UE; value indicative of available DL channelelements per associated UE; and value indicative of available UL channelelements per associated UE.

Non-limiting examples of load-indicative values and respective loadcondition criteria are illustrated in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Load Condition Criteria C_(L) C_(L) for Load indicative loadedC_(L) for normal C_(L) for unloaded value condition condition conditionAvailable % of <10% 10%>= x =<25% >25% TxPower per UE Available % Codes<6%  6%>= x =<25% >25% per UE Available % Channel <30% 30%>= x=<60% >60% Elements DL Available % Channel <30% 30%>= x =<60% >60%Elements UL

The TC system is further configured to handle (402), for each of thespecified resources, values of downlink load threshold T_(DL)informative of threshold relative durations of different load conditionsin the downlink (e.g. % of unloaded, normal, overloaded conditionsduring a classification period).

By way of non-limiting example, values of downlink load threshold TDLcan be equal for each of resources in Table 2 and indicate that therespective resource is unloaded during a given classification period ifit was in unloaded condition at least 90% of the given classificationperiod, and that the respective resource is loaded during a givenclassification period if it was in loaded condition at least 10% of thegiven classification period.

Values of load condition criteria and/or load threshold(s) of a givenaccess point can be predefined or, optionally, can be dynamicallychanged by the TC system in accordance with predefined rules (e.g.depending on load conditions in a certain group of APs, load conditionsin the entire network or a respective part thereof, changes of aprivilege level of the given AP, certain situations, etc.). By way ofnon-limiting example, the load condition criteria can be calibrated sothat a certain part of APs may be calibrated as loaded.

Depending on vendors of network equipment, data informative of resourceutilization can be received in different formats. By way of non-limitingexample, in case of vendor A, TC system can receive, with regard to eachAP among the plurality of APs, data informative of resource utilizationwhich has been continuously measured (e.g. every second) and collectedby RNC during a minimal collection period (e.g. 15 minutes) specifiedfor RNC. In case of vendor B, the TC system can receive, with regard toeach AP among the plurality of APs, derivatives of the measured andcollected in NDs data (e.g. a histogram indicative of distribution ofoccupied resources and number of associated UEs during the collectionperiod). In such cases, intermediate processing can be required prior toand/or during the classification operation.

Optionally, load condition criteria and/or downlink load threshold(s)can differ for different access points depending on vendor, location(e.g. urban or rural), etc.

The TC system uses the obtained data informative of resource utilizationfor calculating, for each specified resource, load-indicative value andcomparing (403) the calculated value with load condition criteria. Thus,the TC system defines unloaded, normal and overloaded conditions ofdownlink at different points-in-time (or periods), and furthercalculates (404), for each specified resource, total durations ofunloaded, normal and overloaded conditions during the classificationperiod and calculates relative duration(s) of these conditions duringthe classification period. The TC system further compares, for eachresource, the calculated relative duration(s) with downlink loadthreshold T_(DL) and assesses (405) load of each resource accordingly.The TC system further uses the assessed loads of the specified resourcesfor classifying (406), in accordance with predefined rules, the load ofAP's downlink during the classification period. A non-limiting exampleof predefined rules is illustrated in Table 3. In the example thedownlink is classified as loaded if at least one resource is classifiedas loaded during the classification period; the downlink is classifiedas normal if at least one resource is classified as normal and none ofthe resources is classified as loaded during the classification period;and the downlink is classified as unloaded if all resources areclassified as unloaded during the classification period.

TABLE 3 Classification of AP Load Condition Rule Loaded At least oneresource is classified as loaded Normal At least one resource isclassified as normal and none of the resources is classified as loadedUnloaded All resources are classified as unloaded

The following is a non-limiting example of load assessment fortransmission power in cases where data informative of resourceutilization is obtained in the format of a histogram. In accordance withcertain embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter, uponreceiving histograms indicative of distribution of transmission powerand number of associated UEs during the classification period, the TCsystem provides the following calculations:

-   -   calculating average load per UE in each period in a received        histogram;    -   using the resulted resource load distribution for calculating        distribution of percentage of resources available per each HS        user;    -   interpolating the resulted distribution as a normal distribution

${P(x)} = {\frac{1}{\sigma\sqrt{2\pi}}e^{{- {({x - \mu})}^{2}}/{({2\sigma^{2}})}}}$

-   -   estimating the probability P that:    -   a. % of transmission power available per each UE is lower than        the load criteria for load conditions for transmission power        resource;    -   b. % of transmission power available per each UE is higher than        the load criteria for unload conditions for transmission power        resource;    -   calculating relative duration of load and unload conditions        Time_Percentage_Loaded=(ΣP_loaded*time_interval_i)/Total_time        Time_Percentage_Unloaded=(ΣP_unloaded*time_interval_i)/Total_time    -   comparing the relative durations with respective values of        T_(DL) and assessing the load of each resource accordingly:        -   if Time_Percentage_Loaded>T_(DL) value for percentage of            loaded time, then the transmission power resource is loaded,        -   if Time_Percentage_Unloaded>T_(DL) value for percentage of            unloaded time, then the transmission power resource is            unloaded;        -   otherwise the transmission power resource is in normal            condition.

In cases where data informative of utilization of other resources areobtained in the format of a histogram, the TC system can provide loadassessment of such resources in a manner similar to the above.

Referring back to FIG. 2, upon receiving results of uplink and downlinkclassification, the TC system enables desirable provisioning of AP. Inaccordance with certain embodiments of the present invention, theprovisioning can include generating, by the TC system, a respectiveprovisioning script and enabling its further execution. By way ofnon-limiting example, the generated provisioning script can be deliveredto OSS and executed responsive to a command provided by the TC system(e.g. via Telnet) or by OSS.

As detailed above, the TC system is configured to classify uplink loadindependently of classifying downlink load. The TC system is furtherconfigured to provision cell selecting parameters in accordance withuplink classification results independently of provisioning cellreselection parameters or cell footprint parameters. If uplinkload-indicative value (e.g. RTWP) equals or exceeds a value of uplinkload threshold T_(UL), the TC system enables, responsive to respectiveclassification results, provisioning (208) of AP cell selectionparameters to redirect idle UEs to other APs and/or different RAT. Byway of non-limiting example, a cell selection parameter can be aQRxLevMin parameter indicative of the minimum RSRP requirement for cellselection or QRxQualMin indicative of the minimum quality requirementfor cell selection. Optionally, if the uplink load-indicative value islower than a value of uplink load threshold T_(UL), the TC systemenables, responsive to respective classification results, provisioning(205) of AP admission control parameters so to decrease minimalrequirements for cell selection. Optionally, the requirements for cellselection (e.g. QRxLevMin, QRxQualMin) can be increased in a gradualmanner using a plurality of increasing provisional thresholdsT_(ULP)>T_(UL). Likewise, the requirements for cell selection can bedecreased in a gradual manner in accordance with uplink loadclassification results.

A non-limiting example of the decision making process for APprovisioning, based on uplink classification and congestionclassification, is summarized in Table 4.

TABLE 4 Uplink load-indicative AP congestion-indicative value (LIV)_(UL)vs. T_(UL) value (CIV) vs. T_(C) value value Provisioning decision CIV >T_(C) (LIV)_(UL) > T_(UL) QRXLEVMIN Up CPICH Down CIV > T_(C) (LIV)_(UL)< T_(UL) QRXLEVMIN down CPICH Down CIV < T_(C) (LIV)_(UL) > T_(UL)QRXLEVMIN Up CIV < T_(C) (LIV)_(UL) < T_(UL) QRXLEVMIN down CPICH Up(subject to load classification of downlink)

As detailed above, the TC system can be configured to classify downlinkload independently of classifying uplink load. The TC system can befurther configured to provision (207) cell reselection parameters and/orcell footprint in parameters in accordance with downlink classificationresults only under condition that the congestion-indicative value (CIV)is lower than the value of congestion threshold T_(C) and uplinkload-indicative value is lower than the value of uplink load thresholdT_(UL). Subject to these conditions, and responsive to respectiveclassification results, the TC system enables provisioning (207) of cellreselection parameters (and, optionally, cell footprint controlparameters) independently of provisioning of cell selection parametersin accordance with uplink classification results.

Provisioning of AP's reselection parameters in accordance with downlinkload classification is further detailed with reference to FIG. 5.

Subject to congestion-indicative value (CIV) lower than value ofcongestion threshold T_(C) and uplink load-indicative value lower thanvalue of uplink load threshold T_(UL), the TC system enablesprovisioning (501) of cell reselection parameters (e.g. Qhyst, Qoffset,etc.) in accordance with the classification results. If, according tothe classification results, the given AP is loaded, the TC system checksdownlink classification results of APs neighboring the given AP in orderto define (503) at least one neighboring AP with downlink classified asunloaded. If such neighboring AP is found, the TC system enablesreduction (504) of a reselection parameter of the given AP (e.g. Qhyst2can be reduced from 2 dB to 0 dB) and respective increasing of areselection parameter of the found neighboring AP (e.g. Qoffset can beincreased by additional 2 dB). No provisioning is provided in this caseif no unloaded neighbors are found.

If, according to the classification results, the given AP is in normalcondition (505), the TC system keeps (506) reselection parameters of thegiven AP unchanged. In case of unloaded condition of the given AP, theTC system increases the reselection parameters (e.g. Qhyst2 can beincreased from 2 dB to 4 dB).

Among advantages of certain embodiments of the presently disclosedsubject matter is capability of provisioning reselection parametersusing results of downlink classification provided in multi-vendor and/ormulti-RAT networks and/or multi-band networks.

Provisioning of AP's footprint parameters in accordance with downlinkload classification is further detailed with reference to FIG. 6.

Subject to congestion-indicative value (CIV) lower than value ofcongestion threshold T_(C) and uplink load-indicative value lower thanvalue of uplink load threshold T_(UL), the TC system enablesprovisioning (601) of cell footprint parameters in accordance with theclassification results. If, according to the classification results, thegiven AP is in normal condition (603), the TC system increases (603) thecell's coverage to a first predefined level (e.g. by increasing CPICH by0.2 dB). In case of unloaded condition (604) of the given AP, the TCsystem increases (606) the cell's coverage to a second predefined level(e.g. by increasing CPICH by 0.5 dB).

Provisioning of AP's footprint parameters in accordance with downlinkload classification can be provided independently of provisioning ofAP's reselection parameters. However, ability to provision AP'sfootprint parameters in accordance with downlink load classification canbe limited by different regulations (e.g. maximal CPICH specified for agiven AP and/or a given frequency).

Referring to FIG. 7, there is illustrated a generalized flow chart of ascheduled control of traffic in an access point.

In certain use cases, changes in a number of UEs associated with a givenaccess point can be estimated in advance. For example, substantivechanges in a number of UEs associated with each of a plurality of accesspoints located along a railway and serving the passengers in trains,occur in accordance with the trains' schedule.

In accordance with certain embodiments of the presently disclosedsubject matter, the TC system can be configured to pre-provision accesspoints located along a railway and serving the passengers in trains(referred to hereinafter as “involved APs) in accordance with KPI andresource utilization which are expected at a scheduled time.

For each given AP from the plurality of involved AP's, TC system can beconfigured to obtain (701) data informative of expected load in uplinkand/or downlink during a period corresponding to a scheduled substantiveincrease of passengers to be served.

The TC system can be further configured to classify (702) the loadexpected during the scheduled period in uplink and/or downlink, and toconfigure and schedule (703) provisioning actions accordingly.

The provisioning actions can be configured in accordance with algorithmand criteria detailed with reference to FIGS. 2-6 and can be scheduledin accordance with a train schedule related to given access points andneighbors thereof. The respective classification period can be definedas a period of serving respective train(s) during the scheduled event(i.e. the period of substantial change in number of UEs associated withrespective AP and respective train).

The TC system is further configured to enable (704) the configuredprovisioning actions as scheduled.

Operations (701)-(703) can be provided in advance and respective dataand provisional scripts can be stored in the TC system.

Optionally, data informative of load expected during a scheduled periodcan be derived considering actual KPI and/or resource utilization priorto the scheduled time. In such cases, the classification period can beextended to a predefined-duration period prior to the scheduled event(i.e. to a period corresponding to passing a predefined number (e.g.four) of preceding APs), and decisions on provisional actions can betaken at the scheduled time in accordance with respective classificationresults.

Data informative of load expected in uplink and/or downlink can bederived in advance from the known train schedule, estimated number ofpassengers to be served by the given AP at a scheduled period andstatistic-based data informative of KPI and resource utilization of thegiven AP in the absence of trains. Number of passengers to be served bythe given AP at a scheduled period can be estimated in advance using atemporal pattern derived from statistical data informative of a numberof passengers in respective trains when passing the area served by thegiven AP. Statistic-based data informative of KPI and resourceutilization of the given AP in absent of trains can be derived from datacollected by TC system during statistically sufficient period, withrespect to the given AP.

Alternatively or additionally, data informative of load expected inuplink and/or downlink at a scheduled period can be estimated in-advanceusing a temporal pattern derived by TC system from data informative of arespective load moving from one involved AP to another in a lineardirection along the railroad, such data can be collected by TC systemduring statistically sufficient period (e.g. several days).

Alternatively or additionally, TC system can be configured to provideoperation 701 in a continuous manner. TC system can derive datainformative of load expected in uplink and/or downlink from datainformative of load moving between one or more involved APs precedingthe given AP, the moving being responsive to moving a given train. Suchdata can be collected by TC system before the given train reaches anarea served by the given AP.

TC system can be configured to use the continuously obtained datainformative of the expected load to continuously refine the providedin-advance classification. TC system can be further configured todisable the scheduled provisioning actions if the refined classificationmeets a disable criterion. Optionally, TC system can be configured toselect, among the stored provisional scripts, a script corresponding tothe refined classification, and enable respectively selectedprovisioning actions at the schedule time.

Optionally, TC system can be configured to use the continuously obtaineddata informative of the expected load in a feedback loop forclassification and pre-provisioning next scheduled events.

Alternatively, TC system can use the continuously obtained datainformative of load expected in uplink and downlink during a scheduledperiod for continuous classification of the expected load.Classification period in this case can be defined as a period ofcollecting data informative of load moving in respect of one or morepreceding APs of the plurality of involved APs. TC system can be furtherconfigured to enable provisioning the uplink and/or downlink of thegiven AP in accordance with classification results, the provisioning tobe provided at the scheduled time in accordance with the trainsschedule.

It is noted that the detailed above scheduled traffic control is,likewise, applicable to other use cases with a predictable schedule ofsubstantive changes in a number of UEs associated with respective accesspoints.

Referring to FIG. 8, there is illustrated a generalized functionaldiagram of a TC system in accordance with certain embodiments of thepresently disclosed subject matter. The TC system (101) can beimplemented as a standalone platform or integrated, fully or partly,with other network entities (e.g. OSS, PCRF, etc.). The TC systemcomprises a processor (105) operatively coupled to an interface circuit(801) (e.g. a port). The interface circuit (801) is configured tocontinuously receive from ND depositories data informative of networkevents and to forward the received data and/or derivatives thereof tothe processor 105 and/or database 104 operatively coupled to theprocessor. The interface circuit is further configured to continuouslyreceive KPIs or other quality-related data (e.g. from the PM node). Theprocessor 105 is configured to provide necessary processing of thereceived data in accordance with operations detailed with reference toFIGS. 2-7. Memory 805 operatively coupled to the processor 105 isconfigured to accommodate all thresholds, load criteria and predefinedrules detailed with reference to FIGS. 2-7.

The processor (105) can be configured to execute several functionalmodules in accordance with computer-readable instructions implemented ona non-transitory computer usable medium. Such functional modules arereferred to hereinafter as comprised in the processor.

In accordance with certain embodiments of the presently disclosedsubject matters, the processor can comprise operatively coupled parsingmodule 802, classifier module 803 and provisioning module 804. Theparsing module 802 can be configured to process the received data toderive data indicative of resource utilization status and/or qualityrelated data from the log records accommodated in the database 104. Theclassifier module 803 can be configured to continuously assesscongestion and load conditions as detailed with reference to FIGS. 2-7and forward the results of classification to the provisioning module 804and to the memory 805. The provisioning module 804 is configured togenerate provisioning scripts in accordance with the classificationresults and provide them to OSS for further execution. Optionally, theprovisioning module can be configured to send an execution command forinitiating the provisioning scripts.

Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the presentlydisclosed subject matter is not bound by the configuration of FIG. 8;equivalent and/or modified functionality can be consolidated or dividedin another manner and can be implemented in any appropriate combinationof software, firmware and hardware.

It is to be understood that the presently disclosed subject matter isnot limited in its application to the details set forth in thedescription contained herein or illustrated in the drawings. Thepresently disclosed subject matter is capable of other embodiments andof being practiced and carried out in various ways.

It will also be understood that the presently disclosed subject matterfurther contemplates a non-transitory machine-readable memory tangiblyembodying a program of instructions executable by the machine forexecuting the method of the invention.

Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that variousmodifications and changes can be applied to the embodiments of theinvention as hereinbefore described without departing from its scope,defined in and by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of controlling traffic in a cellularnetwork comprising a plurality of controlled access points (APs), themethod comprising: continuously obtaining by a computerized system datainformative of resource utilization with regard to APs of the pluralityof controlled APs; processing, by the computerized system, the obtaineddata to continuously classify, for a given AP of the plurality ofcontrolled APs, downlink load with respect to a downlink load thresholdand uplink load with respect to an uplink load threshold, thereby givingrise to downlink and uplink classification results, wherein uplink loadclassification is provided independently of downlink loadclassification; continuously obtaining one or more Key PerformanceIndicators (KPIs) with regard to the given AP; using the obtained KPIsfor calculating, for the given AP, a congestion-indicative value; andenabling, by the computerized system, provisioning of the given AP inaccordance with respective classification results, wherein: provisioningin accordance with downlink classification results comprises at leastone of: changing cell reselection parameters and changing cell footprintparameters; provisioning in accordance with uplink classificationresults comprises changing cell selection parameters; and provisioningin accordance with uplink classification results is enabledindependently of provisioning in accordance with downlink classificationresults, wherein enabling provisioning the given AP in accordance withdownlink classification results is provided only if the calculatedcongestion-indicative value is less than a predefined value of acongestion threshold.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein provisioning thegiven AP in accordance with downlink classification results is furtherenabled only if uplink classification results match predefined criteria.3. The method of claim 1, wherein downlink load classification of thegiven AP is enabled only when the uplink load of the given AP isclassified as being below the load threshold.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein values of load thresholds are predefined.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein values of load thresholds of the given AP differ from valuesof load thresholds of at least one other AP of the plurality ofcontrolled APs.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the computerizedsystem changes the values of load thresholds in accordance withpredefined rules.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the predefined rulesare related to a privilege level of the given AP.
 8. The method of claim1, wherein data informative of resource utilization with regard to atleast one AP are obtained in a format differing from the format of datainformative of resource utilization obtained with regard to at least oneother AP, the method further comprising an intermediate processing ofthe obtained data prior to the classification.
 9. The method of claim 1wherein duration of an uplink classification period for providing uplinkload classification differs from duration of a downlink classificationperiod for providing downlink load classification.
 10. A traffic controlsystem configured to control traffic in a cellular network comprising aplurality of controlled access points (APs), the system comprising aprocessor operatively coupled to a memory and an interface circuitoperatively coupled to the processor and the memory, wherein theinterface circuit is configured to continuously obtain data informativeof resource utilization with regard to APs of the plurality ofcontrolled Aps and continuously obtain one or more KEY PerformanceIndicators (KPIs) with regard to the given AP; the processor isconfigured to: process data obtained via the interface circuit tocontinuously classify, for a given AP of the plurality of controlledAPs, downlink load with respect to a downlink load threshold stored inthe memory and uplink load with respect to an uplink load thresholdstored in the memory, thereby giving rise to downlink and uplinkclassification results, wherein the processor is configured to provideuplink load classification independently of downlink loadclassification; to use the obtained KPIs for calculating, for the givenAP, a congestion-indicative value; and enable provisioning of the givenAP in accordance with respective classification results, wherein:provisioning in accordance with downlink classification resultscomprises at least one of: changing cell reselection parameters andchanging cell footprint parameters; provisioning in accordance withuplink classification results comprises changing cell selectionparameters; and provisioning in accordance with uplink classificationresults is enabled independently of provisioning in accordance withdownlink classification results; wherein the processor is configured toenable provisioning the given AP in accordance with downlinkclassification results only if the calculated congestion-indicativevalue is less than a predefined value of a congestion threshold.
 11. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein provisioning the given AP in accordance withdownlink classification results is further enabled only if uplinkclassification results match predefined criteria.
 12. The system ofclaim 10, wherein downlink load classification of the given AP isenabled only when the uplink load of the given AP is classified as beingbelow the load threshold.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein values ofload thresholds are predefined.
 14. The system of claim 10, whereinvalues of load thresholds of the given AP differ from values of loadthresholds of at least one other AP of the plurality of controlled APs.15. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configuredto change the values of load thresholds in accordance with predefinedrules and to store the changed values in the memory.
 16. The system ofclaim 15, wherein the predefined rules are related to a privilege levelof the given AP.
 17. The system of claim 10, wherein data informative ofresource utilization with regard to at least one AP are obtained in aformat differing from the format of data informative of resourceutilization obtained with regard to at least one other AP, the processorfurther configured to provide an intermediate processing of the obtaineddata prior to the classification.
 18. A non-transitory computer readablestorage medium having instructions that, when executed by a processingdevice, cause the processing device to perform operating a trafficcontrol system capable of controlling traffic in a cellular networkcomprising a plurality of controlled access points (APs), the operatingcomprising: continuously obtaining by a computerized system datainformative of resource utilization with regard to APs of the pluralityof controlled APs; processing, by the computerized system, the obtaineddata to continuously classify, for a given AP of the plurality ofcontrolled APs, downlink load with respect to a downlink load thresholdand uplink load with respect to an uplink load threshold, thereby givingrise to downlink and uplink classification results, wherein uplink loadclassification is provided independently of downlink loadclassification; continuously obtaining one or more Key PerformanceIndicators (KPIs) with regard to the given AP; using the obtained KPIsfor calculating, for the given AP, a congestion-indicative value; andenabling, by the computerized system, provisioning of the given AP inaccordance with respective classification results, wherein: provisioningin accordance with downlink classification results comprises changingcell reselection parameters; wherein provisioning in accordance withuplink classification comprises at least one of: changing cell selectionparameters and changing cell footprint parameters; and whereinprovisioning in accordance with uplink classification is enabledindependently of provisioning in accordance with downlinkclassification, wherein enabling provisioning the given AP in accordancewith downlink classification results is provided only if the calculatedcongestion-indicative value is less than a predefined value of acongestion threshold.